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26. ON GLOUCESTER'S APPROACHING MARRIAGE.

[_]

[MS. Trin. Coll. Camb. R. 3, 20, pp. 158–164.]

And nowe here begynneþe a comendable balade by Lydegate Daun Iohan at þe reuerence of my Lady of Holand and of my Lord of Gloucestre to fore þe day of þeyre maryage in þe desyrous tyme of þeyre truwe lovyng.

1

Thorugh gladde aspectis of þe god Cupyde,
And ful acorde of his moder deere,
Ful offt[e] syþes list aforne provyde,
By cours eterne of þe sterres cleere,
Hertis in loue for to ioyne in feere,
602

Thoroughe bonde of feyth, perpetuelly tendure,
By influence of God and of nature.

2

Þe heven aboue disposeþe many thinges
Which witt of man can not comprehende:
Þe faatal ordre of lordes and of kynges
To make somme in honnour hye ascende,
And somme al-so ful lowe to descende,
And in loue eeke to lacen and constreyne,
Hertes tenbrace in Iubiters cheyne.

3

Þus cam in first þe knotte of allyaunce
Betweene provynces and worþy regyouns,
Folkes to sette in pees and acordaunce,
To beon alloone in þeyre affeccouns
And to exclude alle devysyouns,
Of contekk, stryff of batayle, and of werres,
Þe first cause pourtreyed in þe sterres.

4

For noman may þordeynaunce eschuwe,
Thinges disposed by cours celestyal,
Ner destenye to voyde nor remuwe,
But oonly God þat lordshipeþe al;
For thorughe His might moost imperyal,
Þeternal Lord, moost discrete and saage,
He brought in first þordre of maryage.

5

Ensaumple in bookes þer beon moo þane oon,
Þinward pithth whoo so list to charge,
Executid is of so yoore agoon,
Recorde I take of Calydoyne and Arge,
Howe þoo landes so broode, so wyde, so large,
Were marked oon þe story list not feyne,
By maryage, wheeche a-fore were tweyne.
603

6

And in cronycles autentyk and olde
Many a story of antiquytee
Vn-to þis pourpoos rehersed is and tolde,
Howe maryages haue grounde and cause be
Betwene landes of pees and vnytee,
And here to-forne, as made is remembraunce,
Þe werre stynt of England and of Fraunce.

7

And, as I hope, of hert and menyng truwe
Þe mortal werre ceesse shal and fyne,
Betwene þoo booþe, and pees ageyne renuwe,
To make loue with cleer beemys shyne,
By þe meene of hir þat heeght Katheryne,
Ioyned til oon, his deedis can you telle,
Henry þe Fyffte, of knighthoode sours and welle.

8

And firþerdovne for to specefye,
Þe dewe of grace distille shal and reyne
Pees and acorde for to multeplye,
In þe boundes here of oure Brettaygne
To fynde a wey wherby we may atteyne
Þat Duchye of Holand by hool affeccoun
May beo allyed with Brutus Albyoun.

9

Þat þey may beo oon body and oon hert,
Rooted on feyth, devoyde of doublenesse,
And eeke to seen cleerly and aduerte
A nuwe sonne to shynen of gladnesse,
In booþe londes, texcluden al derknesse
Of oolde hatred and of al rancour,
Brought in by meene of oon þat is þe floure

10

Thoroughe oute þe worlde called of wommanheed,
Truwe ensaumple and welle of al goodenesse,
Benyngne of poorte, roote of goodelyheed,
Sooþefast myrrour of beaute and fayrnesse,
I mene of Holand þe goodely fresshe Duchesse,
604

Called Iaques, whos birth for to termyne,
Is by descent imperyal of lyne.

11

As Hester meeke, and as Iudith saage,
Flouring in youþe lyke to Polixseene,
Secree feythful as Dydo of Cartage,
Constant of hert lyche Ecuba þe qweene,
And as Lucresse in loue truwe and cleene,
Of bountee, fredame, and of gentylesse,
She may be called wel lady and maystresse.

12

Feyre was Heleyne, liche as bookes telleþe,
And renommed as of seemlynesse;
But sheo in goodnesse fer aboue excelleþe,
To rekken hir trouthe and hir stedfastnesse,
Hir gouuernaunce and hir hye noblesse,
Þat if she shal [be] shortly comprehendid,
In hir is no thing þat might beon amended.

13

Þer-to she is descreete and wonder sadde
In hir appoorte, who so list taake heede,
Right avysee, and woumanly eeke gladde,
And Dame Prudence dooþe ay hir brydel leede,
Fortune, and Grace, and Raysoun eeke in deede
In alle hir werkis with hir beon allyed,
Þat thoroughe þe worlde hir naame is magnefyed.

14

To þe poore she is also ful mercyable,
Ful of pytee and of compassyoun,
And of nature list not to beo vengeable,—
Þoughe hit so beo sheo haue occasyoun;
Þat I suppose nowe in no regyoun
Was neuer a better at alle assayes founden,
So miche vertu dooþe in hir habounden.
605

15

A heven it is to beon in hir presence,
Who list consydre hir governaunce at al,
Whos goodely looke in verray existence
So aungellyk and so celestyal,
So femynyne, and in especial,
Hir eyeghen sayne, who so looke weel,
“Foryoven is oure wraththe euery deel.”

16

And hir colours beon black, whyte, and rede:
Þe reed in trouthe tookeneþe stabulnesse,
And þe black, whoo so takeþe heede,
Signefyeth parfyt soburnesse,
Þe whyte also is tooken of clennesse,
And eeke hir word is in verray sooþe
Ce bien raysoun al þat euer she dooþe.

17

And sith she is by discent of blood
Þe grettest borne oone of hem on lyve,
And þer-with-al moost vertuous and goode,
Þe trouthe pleynly yif I shal descryue,
Suche grace I hope of nuwe shal arryue
With hir komyng thoroughe al þis lande
Þat þer shal beo a perpetuelle bande,

18

Parfourmyng vp by knott of maryage
With helpe of God betweene þis lady bright
And oon þat is sooþely of his aage,
Thoroughe al þis worlde oon þe best knyght,
And best pourveyed of manhood and of might,
In pees and werre thoroughe his excellence,
And is also of wisdam and prudence

19

Moost renommed; for to rekken al,
Frome eest to west, as of heghe prowesse,
In daring-doo and deedes marcyal,
He passeþ alle thorughe his worþynesse,
Þat yif I shall þe trouthe cleer expresse,
606

He haþe deserved thoroughe his knyghtly name
To beo regystred in þe Hous of Ffaame.

20

Egally ye with þe Worþy Nyen;
For with Parys he haþe comlynesse,
In trouth of loue with Troyllus he dooþe shyne,
And with Hectour he haþe eeke hardynesse,
With Tedeus he haþe fredam and gentylesse,
Wal of Bretayne, by manly vyolence,
Ageyne hir foomen to standen at defence.

21

Slouth eschuwing, he dooþe his witt applye
To reede in bookis, wheeche þat beon moral,
In Hooly Writt with þe allegorye,
He him delyteþe to looke in specyal,
In vnderstonding is noone to him egal,
Of his estate expert in poetrye,
With parfounde feeling of phylosofye.

22

With Salamoun haþe he sapyence,
Faame of knighthoode with Cesar Iulius,
Of rethoryk and eeke of eloquence
Equypollent with Marcus Tulius,
With Hanubal he is victorious,
Lyche vn-to Pompey for his hyeghe renoun,
And to gouuerne egale with Cypyoun.

23

Þis Martys sone and sooþefastly his heyre,
So wolde God of his eternal might
He ioyned were with hir þat is so feyre,
Þe fresshe duchesse, of whome I speek now right,
Sith he in hert is hir truwe knyght,
For whome he wryteþe in goode aventure
Sanz plus vous belle perpetuelly tendure.
607

24

Þane were þis lande in ful sikurnesse
Ageyns þassaute of alle oure mortell foone,
Farewell þanne al trouble and hevynesse
Yif so were þees landes were alle oon,
And God I prey it may beo doone anoon,
Of his might so gracyously ordeyne
Þat pees fynal were sette betweene hem tweyne.

25

And I dare weel afferme fynally
Thorughe oute þis lande, of hye and lowe degree,
Þat alle folkes preyen ful specyally
Þis thing in haast may executed be;
And þou þat art oon and twoo and thre,
Þis gracious werk dispoose for þe best,
For to conclude þe fyne of þeyre request.

26

And Ymeneus, þow fortune þis matere;
Thoroughe helpe of Iuno, nexst of þyne allye,
Maake a knotte feythful and entiere,
As whylome was betweene Phylogonye
And Mercurye, eeke so hyegh a-bove þe skye,
Wher þat Clyo and eeke Calyopye
Sange with hir sustren in noumbre thryes three.

27

And alle yee goddes beoþe of oon acorde
Þat haue youre dwelling aboue þe firmament,
And yee goddesses, devoyde of al descoorde,
Beoþe weel-willy and also dilygent,
And þowe, Fortune, bee also of assent
Þis neodful thing texecuyt yerne,
Thorugh youre power which þat is eterne.

Lenvoye

Pryncesse of bountee, of fredam emparesse.
Þe verray loodsterre of al goodelyhede,
Lowly I prey vn-to youre hyeghe noblesse
608

Of my rudenesse not to taken heed;
And wher so it be þis bille þat yee reed,
Haþe mercy ay on myn ignoraunce,
Sith I it made, bytwix hope and dreed,
Of hoole entent yowe for tyl do plesaunce.
and þus eendeþe heere þis balade.
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